The tail end of the March of 2012

  It's really hard to take pictures of uncooperative chicks.  LOL So, neither of these pictures is particularly good, but it's what we got.   You can see how they are getting gangly and less cute than they were a week ago.  BUT, we love them still...lol

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  So today is the end of March and I just realized that I have laundry hanging on the line that I completely forgot to bring in.  Oh well.  It's 61 degrees out there right now (midnight) and tomorrow is supposed to be 88 and Monday 90.  They'll dry.

 We had a busy day today, sort of.  I mostly puttered, but got lots of little things done AND baked 2 loaves of artisan bread.   My son was here and did a lot of cleanup out in the backyard...took the chainsaw and cleaned up several big branches that have been laying around back there for too long, and then cleaned up all the debris too.  He was out there for a good 4 hours.  Then the Irishman  came home with a truckload of composted leaves and they spread those out on the potato bed and started in on the other beds.  I did a little shopping--needed soy yogurt and some green stuff like cucumbers and parsley and spring mix. And bird seed.  Can't forget the bird seed.

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  Made a beautiful pasta primavera for supper, with a nice green salad and slices of 7 grain bread. I've been using Bob's Red Mill 7 grain cereal in my artisan bread and it is awesome. A dense, chewy healthy bread. Anyway, it was perfect with  the angel hair pasta and all the veggies. After supper, we watched some goofy movie on tv and now it's winding down. Ready to go to sleep and wake up to a fresh new month.  April. Mmmm...can't wait.  lol

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  Some of the seeds we started are finally coming up (I am so impatient) and I am more than ready to get going on some real dirt planting. Himself has been all impatient about getting things going, and I've had to remind him  more than once that it's still early in these parts, that we are right on time, and that it's all going to be okay. lol  He has come home from working his 10 hour shift a couple of nights and wanted to go out and work in the garden before eating supper.  lol

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  One of my friends is coming home this next week sometime and she's been gone for 4 months almost. It'll be good to have her back.

  I have had a new chiropractor recommended to me and think I will call them on Monday.  I am having a lot of trouble with my neck lately. A new pair of eyes to look over this problem will only be a good thing.  I have been procrastinating about doing this and need to just stop it and go.  I really am tired of being in pain all the time. Same with the knee.  sigh....

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  The chicken seems to be getting better. I got some vitamins and electrolytes to go in the water and today she was looking a little better, and ate some chickweed and scratched in the dirt a little.  (CiCi- this update's for you.)  lol  She actually went into the coop by herself tonight, so that's a good sign.

   The babies are eating me out of house and home. lol  I refill their little feeder at least twice a day, and have been giving them little bits of kale and spinach too. They are gobbling up everything in sight. It's such a joy...

  I cleaned their pen yesterday and all the surrounding floor and anything else in that room that gets covered with the fine dust they seem to generate.  Between the chicken feed, the bedding inside the pen, and their little constant dander , it gets pretty dusty.

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  My cousin had knee replacement surgery a couple of days ago. Not sure if they did both--that's what they were talking about. He's still in the hospital, and I will call his wife tomorrow.  I think it all went well. He's a plumber..and I guess that's part of the job hazard.  I'm worried that's what I'm in for too...I don't think there's much else they can do, at this point, since he took 45% of the cartilage out last time.  Not a lot left to work with...(and that was my second knee surgery in 10 years).

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  Guess I'd better hit the hay. Tired and ready for a good nights sleep. Sat with my neighbor's husband 5 hours on Thursday and then for 2 hours on Friday. Got a lot of housekeeping done in between, as well as finishing up 4 loads of laundry.  Couldn't pass up the opportunity to strip the bed and wash those linens and hang them outside.  Sooooo nice.  Also did the dog blankets, as they were getting pretty stinky too. The Irishman can never smell them, and I can smell them across the room. As usual..the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.  lol   But I washed them anyway, and hung them out to dry.  I might do the slipcovers tomorrow or Monday...Monday I guess---see?? I've already forgotten (since last week) that I am taking Sundays off. I change them out or wash them about every other week..maybe not quite that often. Depends on the weather...if it's raining a lot, the dogs stink up the couch and love seats like nobody's business...

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  Okay...night all.  Hope your Sunday , this first Sunday of April, brings you lots of sunshine and flowers. All the lilacs are in bloom around here and the smell is heavenly...lilac has to be my all time favorite smell. And vanilla.  Oh, and rose.

Never mind. I've obviously gone around the bend...

Sweet dreams !!!

Namaste.

 There is no hope for me.  lol

Tuesday tired....

This picture was taken in May of last year. It about what my yard looks like NOW, except that the cherry and apple trees there are full of flowers.

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  I mowed the front and side yards today. I didn't do much of anything else, because it almost killed me.  lol 

It was a beautiful day, in the low 80's, and sunny and clear. My husband took a day off work and spent the whole day working in the gardens, turning the manure under, spading it deep into the beds, which look gorgeous this year. We did have to tend to a chicken that is acting ill, and hopefully she'll live through the night and I can get some electrolytes and stuff in her tomorrow morning. She hasn't been laying, I don't think, and seems to have a poopy butt, so we cleaned it all up and she was amazingly docile through it all. The Irishman said he had to pick her up and lift her into the coop tonight when he went to shut them up.  Doesn't sound good...

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Ah, all in all though, it was a good day. And we had a huge breakfast and then didn't want much lunch and then were starving by supper.  I convinced himself that we should clean up and go to Mr. Curry's, a local Indian restaurant in Edwardsville that we like. He immediately brightened up and declared it a great idea, and off we went.  I really did NOT feel like cooking anything tonight.  lol  I had a Paneer Tikki Masala that was extraordinary and he had prawns tikki masala.  I absolutely love that sauce, all cream-and-tomatoey...

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  We're both sore and tired and he's in bed and I'm heading that way. It's always hard when you do the first hard days work in the spring, after having been on hiatus all winter. lol   I'm hurting in the places where I used to play...as Leonard Cohen so aptly put it. I just took some Alka Seltzer nighttime cold medicine, because I have this naggy little cough that's been bugging me all day, plus--it's loaded with stuff to make your poor stiff tired muscles feel better.  I could really use some of that.  I have a massage appointment tomorrow afternoon at 1...so that will help a lot. Thank Goodness!!

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I'm having a political conniption over all this Ultrasound crap and started to write about it and changed my mind. Maybe tomorrow. I don't want to go to sleep with THAT on my mind. Not to mention  that young boy in Florida that was killed. Not to mention ALL OF IT !!!!  The world goes crazier by the minute and I feel like [sometimes] nobody is paying attention ! 

 Sigh....

It'll be better in the morning, after a good nights sleep.  It always is. 

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  I made banana/black walnut muffins for breakfast this morning. Along with potatoes cooked in big wedges with lots of onions and stuff and fresh eggs. It was a feast, by any standards. Then I heated up the lovely French Onion soup I made the other day for our lunch, along with a little leftover salad that was hanging around the refrigerator, for our lunch at about 2 o'clock. Somewhere in between there, my son showed up to do a little fishing. He caught 4 or 5 beautiful crappie and said he could have caught more if he stayed. I took a break from the mowing to sit in the rocking chairs and chat with him--good timing on his part, as I was so ready for a break. He offered to finish the mowing for me, but I told him no, that I really need the exercise. He said--you're limping pretty bad, mom.  After I was finished, I iced 'er down for an hour...

  It hurts pretty bad.

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  Looks like Miss Roxie is wanting something and I guess it's time for me to head towards the bedroom. 6 AM shows up mighty early around these parts, lol. 

I hope you all have a grand Wednesday and  it looks like they've changed the forecast for tomorrow. It was supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, but that sky is clear as a bell, and they've changed the rain forecast for tomorrow too.

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Namaste.

A delicate situation...

  ...around these parts.  People do not want to believe that Monsanto is as bad as everyone is making them out to be. On two separate days, in two separate places, I was asking about the seed potatoes and no one knows anything. Now, I don't even know if they've been fooling around with potatoes or not, but I'm suspicious. And at the second place, where we have often bought seed in the past, I asked about where they get their vegetable seeds. They told me about some seed place in Missouri that gets their seed from different places.  Asked me why I was asking and I said that I was making sure I didn't buy anything that came from the Monsanto Corporation. And that I knew that seed that came from a company called  Seminis was owned by Monsanto.  The proprietor told me that they weren't doing anything to garden seed..just farm crop seed.  I said I wasn't so sure about that, and he laughed at me. "More conspiracy theory stuff" he said.  "Maybe" I said, and whistled my way out the front door.

  Here's the thing. I do not trust any money grubbing corporation with my health. None of them. That includes (often) pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and giant medical corporations. It's just how I roll...

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   It has been absolutely gorgeous here.  Even the rain was nice, and afterwards everything just went over the moon.  The fruit trees are all 'abloom...the peaches are even leafing out now, with only faint wisps of the beautiful pink blossoms peeking through.  The Japanese maple in the front yard that I brought from my house in North Carolina is full and red and looks to have grown another foot.  The irises and the lilies are all getting big and beautifully green, the lilacs at the end of the driveway are blooming--I cut a small bouquet yesterday to bring into the house..they smell so wonderful.  We have redbuds, dogwoods, and another tree I don't know the name of--all blooming and coloring up the landscape and hillsides. The myriad shades of greens and golds are stunning. I do love spring...

  And beautiful in a different way are my garden beds, all topped with luscious dark brown composted manure. The grass needs mowing and I thought about getting out there to see if I can get the mower started...but I haven't done it yet.  And it's already 2:30 in the afternoon. Almost time to start supper.  Well--there's always tomorrow !

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  I'm thinking about making adzuki beans and rice for supper.  That's a nice dish to make because there are a lot of different things you can do with the leftovers...like burritos. The big question is: do I go into town for buttermilk and make cornbread to go with ??  mmmmm....I love to throw a little chopped carrot and celery and garlic into the beans when they cook, and then right before they're done, throw in some ribboned kale too. It adds a sweetness and a lot of nutrition to the pot. And looks pretty (prettier with white beans, but, pretty enough with the little red beans too!)

  We are planting some Christmas Limas (a pole bean) this year, and are making teepees of branches for them to climb. It's a really fun and very efficient use of space when you're planting.  We'll dry them right on the vines, so they'll be a low maintenance crop. I adore lima beans...next year maybe we'll plant pintos, as they do well here too. But I have a lot of pintos in my pantry this year, so--limas it is !

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  The baby chicks are growing like weeds. I put some greens into their pen yesterday and they've eaten every bite. lol   They're getting big enough to look a little gangly now--taller and more active. They are not, however being very cooperative about letting me hold them....grrr..

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  Guess I'll get out and do something.  I'm feeling lazy and sleepy, after eating a baked potato and a pint of home canned green beans for lunch. lol  Yes, my dears...I ate the beans RIGHT OUT OF THE JAR..  Didn't heat them or anything, and man--were they good.  This is one of those days when I am reminding myself of the old woman who shall wear purple...remember her??

         


When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

~Jenny Joseph (1932 - ) Visit Jenny's WebsiteGet Jenny's Book at Amazon: "Warning: When I Am an Old Woman"

  Oh, yeah.  That's what I'M talking about.....

Have a grand Monday my dears!!!

Namaste.

A Busy Splatterday...

  Been trying to clean up my mess today...lol.  Vacuumed and dusted and straightened and did not mop, because in the middle of my vacuuming, DH came in and said he was going to get the manure.  If you don't live the kind of thrilling life that I do, then you won't know that when it's manure time on the old homestead, every loose running dog and cat will be out there helping with the poo.  And by helping...I mean, tracking it in and out of my house, eating enough of it to make them vomit, and in the case of Le Weiner Dog, carrying around mouthfuls of it until she gets inside the door, where she adoringly deposits it on my floor. She does the same thing with regular mud, but horse manure seems so much more attractive, for some reason.  And now, DH has gotten the truck stuck in the back yard [again] and is waiting for our neighbor to come over with the tractor. I politely (and helpfully!!) suggested we put him on retainer for the remainder of the garden season.  He did not take kindly to my suggestion, and when I offered (in penance) a freshly baked shortbread cookie, he snapped "I don't WANT a cookie!"  I smiled lovingly and said..oh,. okay.  And went back to my wifely duties.  They are out there now and sound like they're having way too much fun. 

  I do have to remember to mention to him that the dogs don't even bark at the tractor anymore....or not....

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   I baked cookies and I made granola bars and I baked hamburger buns today. I have a tray of sweet potato fries in the oven and will make veggie burgers for supper tonight to go with them. We didn't get any of the rain forecast for today, thank goodness, so were able to get the manure on the garden beds.  ON the other hand, we didn't get to attend the Spring Equinox celebration at La Vista either...but we have gone the past four years and so...We'll make the summer one. They really are a lot of fun.

  I've been putting raw sunflower seeds and flax seeds into the veggie burgers when I make them the last few times. It really adds a lot of nutrition, as well as makes them a little more substantial.  I usually saute onions to go on top too. I start with a nature burger mix and embellish it as I see fit. Sometimes I add beans to it for more protein too.  They are very good...and they'll be especially good on the home made whole grain hamburger buns. They turned out really nice today. And the recipe made about a dozen, so I froze half of them for next time I don't have the whole day to play in my kitchen.  :)

  Smells like it's time to turn the sweet tater fries...be right back.

 Okay.  Yup...they're about halfway done. The burgers are a quick fix, which makes them nice for a busy Saturday. I thought about making a few batches ahead of time and freezing them too, but really, they're so fast that it would be a waste of freezer space, lol

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  Thanks everyone for making me not feel so alone re: the grandbaby thing. I know you're all right and I am mostly always okay about it all...but every now and then it just triggers some primal instinctual thing in me, and knocks me down for a minute.  I am very happy for every woman I know that gets to experience the joy of having a grandchild...I just wish I was one of them.  Sometimes.

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  I have a radio station playing today that's been playing all kinds of old beach music kind of stuff...it's been awesome.  Playing a very eclectic mix of stuff too...and a bit ago was Ritchie Havens singing a Beatles song.  Brings back a lot of memories.  Now it's an instrumental steel guitar kind of thing.  Nice for a change...

  So, it's been a lovely, if busy, day here at Honeysuckle Hill.  My lilacs are blooming, the cherry tree is in full flower too.  The irises are over a foot high and the wild violets are popping up all over the yard.  We planted seed flats last night, and got lots done.  We went to a late morning matinee to see Hunger Games and then to lunch.I was appalled at the number of mothers there bringing their 8,9 and10 year olds, It was a really violent movie.  The acting was great and the  film sported quite a few actors I really like, like Donald Sutherland and Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson.  The star, Jennifer Lawrence was quite good, and has apparently been nominated twice for Academy Awards, and is only 20 years old.

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  Alrighty then...I need to go get some supper on the table. It's 6:30 already and himself is getting ready to come in.

  Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!!!!

Namaste.

 

Prayer Flags...

http://theprayerflagproject.blogspot.com/p/project-overview.html?spref=fb

  Check this out.  It was posted on my Facebook page by Wild Magnolia...and I think it's an awesome idea. I'm gonna get to work on mine tomorrow...

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  It's been a long chilly rainy gloomy day around these parts.  I went over to sit with my neighbors husband for most of the day and then came home to make some vegetarian chili and get ready to head to the discussion group at 6:30.   It, of course, was wonderful.

  So was the chili.  lol    I started out with sauteed onions, added some small diced carrots and celery, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cannelini beans, bell pepper, yellow crookneck and zucchini squashes. I put in a small can of diced mild chilies.  I added extra water. I threw in a couple of handfuls of dried corn.  I added cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoky paprika. Then I put in a little more salt.  lol  It was really wonderful.;  There was enough to freeze a couple of the big yogurt containers and still put a container with another meal's worth in the fridge. We had it with sun dried tomato tortillas, warmed with a little butter. I'm tellin ya, chickadees....it was good. Chock full of chunky vegetables and nothing bad for you in it at all.  And EXTREMELY flavorful.  That smoky paprika (that I bought for another recipe recently) has been worth every penny it cost. It really lends itself well to dishes like this one.  I think it cost something like $1.07 per ounce .

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  I'm pooped tonight. I went to bed in tears last night after some emotional breakdown and then couldn't quite make it stop. So, naturally, I woke up my poor husband and he was well, just wonderful. And then my nose was so stuffed up from crying that I couldn't hardly sleep.   It all started when  everybody I freaking know had to get grandchildren this past few days. I swear... and when I read Mary Moon's blog about Lily's home birth and all the family there and saw the pictures of that little guy....I just lost it.  I just sat here and sobbed and sobbed.  It was all triggered (I'm sure) by the fact that my daughter-in-law went in and had her tubes tied on Monday. Which means that I will most definitely never have grandchildren of my own.  And I guess last night was just my night to process all that grief. And I'm tearing up again, just writing this.

  It isn't like I haven't  always known that she wouldn't be having more children. She has 2 from previous marriages. And has always been very clear that she didn't want more.  And I respect that. It's her body and her choice. But....I actually thought, last night..."He's only 40...he could still meet someone in her 30's who's been dying to have children, and have 4 babies in 5 years...."   Sweet lord.  I really did think that. Fleetingly. 

  Just more proof that I am demented or going senile or something.

  Anyway... I am tired from not enough sleep and am turning in a little earlier tonight.  Hopefully I will sleep like I need to and wake up early tomorrow morning, refreshed and ready to jump into my life.

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  Leaving you with a lovely hopeful quote from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

    " The winds of grace blow all the time.

       All we need to do is set our sails."

  Namaste

Happy Springeroo !!

A beautiful prelude to the beautiful season of rebirth.  Woke to an amazing 65 degrees at 7 AM ...outside the birds are singing and the skies are blue.  I was out back tending my small flock of chickens when I saw the bluejays and cardinals visiting the birdbath over to the side of the yard.  It's full of rainwater...pure and clean...a perfect beginning to their morning. Right now I can hear a seriously industrious woodpecker drilling away across the road and the squirrels are chittering their little hearts out.

 It's as if everyone knows that spring has sprung. lol  The clematis continues its climb  and the lilies have turned into huge clumps over night.  The Eqyptian walking onions have suddenly filled up their little area and yesterday I went out to see if I could cut enough kale to make Susan's (e-i-e-i-omg!) recipe for massaged kale salad...and the bed is overflowing with beautiful dark green baby kale.   Some not-so-baby...and all extremely delicious. And the salad, btw...was to die for !!

  It's really beautiful out there. Our windows have been open day and night for almost 2 weeks. The weather has been gorgeous...but I keep waiting for a freak snowstorm or something. lol  Somewhere I have a picture of the first day of spring where we had about 4 inches of snow!

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   Today I am going to rip this office apart and clean it and re-arrange some things. There's not a lot of room for anything major in here...it was originally a very small child's bedroom with a monstrous walk-in closet. (Which makes no sense to me, but....)  Now it is an office/meditation room with a monstrous walk-in pantry. The walls got painted last year a buttery yellow color and it's the haven for cats and blogger girls. lol  But it's gotten a little disheveled and is in dire need of a reno and massive cleaning/dusting. There are 3 tall bookcases in here that need culling and dusting and straightening...since there are about a hundred more books than there is really space for. Those cannot be relocated, as they are on the only solid wall in the room. There is an old black rocking chair that my husbands mother used with all 5 of her children (she died when he was 18, and he's the oldest) .  There is an old cabinet sewing machine that used to be the bird cage table, but is topped full of incense, Buddhas, prayer beads and flowers.  There is a long sofa table that my computer tower sits on (at one end of it) and the rest is full of crap. There is a metal file cabinet by the window that could easily trade places with the sofa table, and then it could go under the windows on the south wall. If I put it there it will become a "cats-laying-in-the-sun" table. But...that's okay too, I guess. lol  MAN...I'm getting myself motivated here!!!  (I'd better go lie down a minute....LOL)

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  There's a really nice station on satellite tv here that has all piano and guitar music. It's playing now, and it soothes my soul. I love instrumental music. I love classical music, but this is not that.  It's not so soothing that it makes me want to lie down and close my eyes either.  Once the work starts around here today, I may have to switch it to some more lively stuff. There are about 20 stations or more of every kind of music you could want. I always like reggae to work to...or salsa.  Both are on there.

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  Tonight after supper (and NCIS) the Irishman and I will start seeds. He wanted me to just go through and see which ones I want to start ahead of time. We bought a lot of seeds and so it will take some thinking. lol  Not squash, they grow too easily and too fast here. Direct seeding for them. I'm planting butternuts and maybe a yellow summer squash this year. I have 3 different kinds of tomatoes, including a Purple Cherokee, that I am very excited about. Those definitely will be started. And the Chinese cabbages too, I think. One packet of them for now and then another packet to plant for fall. I'll have to figure it out...I'm really glad he is taking more interest in things around here than he ever has. He was always peripherally involved, don't get me wrong. But the past year he has gotten a lot more excited about a lot more things. Yay! And he wants to be involved more...before he would let me do what I always do and then kinda come on the scene after the fact.  He also wants to start cooking more...and I suggested that he cook the meals on Sundays, since the other days he works and Friday we usually go out and Saturday is his day to spend doing his "thing"...hiking, playing music with his friend Jerry , etc.  I told him to think about what he wants to do and let me know what he needs and I would make sure he has the ingredients. He liked the idea and so we are set.  lol  We'll see how long it lasts....he's a pretty spoiled Irishman....

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  Okay. Time to turn this box off and get busy.  I'm going to be making bagels today too...almost half of the last batch got moldy because they were in the bread box instead of the fridge.  :(   And it turned into summer in March.  Sigh....interestingly, it's only the whole wheat that molded...the one plain flour bagel that was left did not... (yikes).

  Have a grand first day of spring everyone.  I'm itching to get going here....

Namaste.

Long time, no post...

  Seems like, anyway.  lol  This was Sunday morning's breakfast..Homemade granola with vanilla soy yogurt and some raw cashews on top. Apple slices with peanut butter to dip them in. I love apples and peanut butter....and the granola, even though I over-browned it, tastes really good. Probably just knowing that it's full of flax seeds and wheat germ and sunflower kernels...I'll be more careful with the next batch.

  Part of it is my old gas oven. I have figured out that the thermostat is somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 degrees off, and so I usually set it accordingly. I can't really make myself pay a service call for some man to come out here and adjust it...I just cannot.  lol  So, from time to time, I forget to set it appropriately or can't set it appropriately (for instance : when you are trying to toast granola at 250, and at 200 the damn thing practically turns itself off.)  But still and all...cooking is NOT (thank goodness) an exact science, and so I manage.  lol

  The other thing that happens, is that more and more, there is so MUCH of me that when I am doing anything on the stove, my midsection is up against the front of the appliance, right where some idiot put all the knobs. (This is NOT a child-proof stove).  So it gets nudged and if I don't look at it, it might suddenly be about a hundred degrees hotter than it was to start with.  Sigh...it's not easy...

  At any rate, the little fancy breakfast was quite lovely and the Irishman said "What a beautiful presentation!" and I remembered why I fell in love with him, lo these many years ago...

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    What a busy crazy week.  And apparently I'm not the only one. (Mama Pea). I haven't written a word since last Thursday.  On Friday, I tried to get some things done around here before going to sit with my neighbor so his wife could go to lunch with some of her old teaching colleagues.  After coming home from there, I puttered around a bit and then the Irishman and I went to see The Lorax at the matinee.  It was a great film, and then we ate at the Japanese place again.  And IT was wonderful too.  Then it was home again and I tried to get to bed a little early because I was getting up at a little before 6 to go pick up my cousin.

  She and I went to Panera's for coffee and a scone before leaving to pick up my sister and head down to southern Missouri.  The outing was a little over 300 miles round trip. We had a great time. Met cousins we'd never met and went over family records and then went out for lunch and then to a cemetery where quite a few of our relatives are buried from back in the late 1800's/early 1900's. I learned a lot more about family than I had known...and that my cousin has submitted her information to the powers that be to have certification that we came over on the Mayflower.  How cool is that??  Of course, that two dollars will get you a cup of coffee, but still...lol 

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  I spent yesterday doing some heavy housecleaning...carpets and stuff. The house looks nice and though it has been in the 80's here for a while, the rains are here the past few days and apparently  all this coming week. So I didn't mop the hardwood floors, figure for a few days I'll just spot-mop, until the mud is down enough that the dogs track in. It's cool-ish this morning,  66 right now at 9:30.  Of course, to call that cool-ish in the middle of March is ridiculous.  But the peach trees are blooming, the clematis grew at least 6 inches yesterday alone...the lilies are getting big already ...all the dogwoods and magnolias are blooming like crazy. 

  AND....(drum roll, please....)  -----  MY SEED ORDER HAS ARRIVED !!!!!!!!  I had them spread out all over the table yesterday, salivating at the thought of getting flats and egg cartons and litter pans and whatever else I can find to use...filled with darling little sproutlings.   I can't wait...I'll probably start tomatoes and squash first, to give them a head start. Then the Chinese cabbages. I want to plant so bad...I bought 3 blueberries to plant, so maybe that will be enough to satisfy me for a little...

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  MY goals for today are to get to Petco for fish food and a water treatment.  Get some bean sprouts started in my sprouting jar (I'm going to make spring rolls to take to class on Thursday for a snack).  Love me UP some little chickies (they are so adorable...the Cherry Eggers are really developing color on their wings and are turning darker red all the time).  I have a few things on my list to do, but as a LOOPHOLE, I wrote  Monday/Tuesday  at the top of that list.  The carpet cleaning was a little hard on my back, which was still hurting from all the walking and standing around that cemetery on Saturday...So, I may spend more time than necessary just  being lazy today.  because I can.  lol

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  My son was here yesterday too...did some fishing and then put a new light in my living room for me. Naturally, it turned into a bigger job (frustrating) than we/he thought...and isn't that how electrical and plumbing jobs always are??  But he got it in and it looks so much better than the ugly old hangy-down thing that was there. Now it's a nice flush white and gold fixture and I love it. I got it for free, which makes me love it even more.  It's so awesome to have a son who can (and will!!) do things like this for his poor old maw.  I told him, when he finished, that I was so glad I didn't kill him when he was younger....lol.

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  Alright...I'm off this machine.  The birds are singing and the sun is peeking through the clouds and it might just turn into a nice day, in spite of the forecast of rain. It feels pretty humid, but it isn't so warm that you'd really notice, except that the floors in the kitchen feel a little sticky, since the windows were open all night.

  But I have high hopes that this is going to be a great day, no matter what turn the weather takes. 

  Have a great Monday, all y'all....

  Namaste.